Well, thousands of other people seemed to like the game just fine (my purchasing customers before Shrapnel published the game). I think the reveiwer wanted it to be something other than what it was (things like wanting to see your ship "grow bigger" as a payoff and wanting to play the pirats "side" or be able to initiate attacks); it isn't and wasn't designed to be that type of game. It was designed to be just a fun space trading sim, and that's all. I think the reviewer wanted it be more "serious" as a simulation, and didn't review the game as it was intended and presented.
He also was inaccurate in saying the "suicide volley" has no effect at all; it does drain your ship's durability quite a bit, up to 35% per shot. I got the feeling he played it for about a half-hour or so and then wrote the review. Oh well.
A patch may be coming soon to add a few tweaks here and there. I'll be posting a thread soon to ask what little tweaks people think would add to the game, or make it better or easier to manage.